The twins were eager for literally any information the Scarlet Alliance would give them. One would almost think they’d never had the chance to learn anything of import before, despite their broad knowledge.

Catarina kept a careful eye on their progress, as formations were one of their many areas of interest. Apparently, they hadn’t been able to get their hands on even basic information on how formations worked in the Trigold Cluster. Or at least, nothing substantial. Obviously they had the opportunity to observe some formations working, but actual learning had been difficult for them to get, even within their sect.

It seemed the knowledge of the Acroamatic Scale was disseminated based on standing and merits contributed to the sect, rather than something sensible like… trust and responsibility. Then again, that had been common even in the Scarlet Midfields not so long before. It wasn’t that it was unexpected, just ineffective.

Trust in people could certainly be misplaced, but when the focus was more on knowing people instead of a list of numbers they had contributed, it was more difficult for them to slip past. Experience let people discern the difference between those who were simply asocial through choice or personality, and those who were hiding something.

Still, without intrusive efforts that might actually push people away from the organization of the Alliance, there would always be some mistakes. That was why they had different levels of security for various techniques and other information. Spies were an unfortunate factor that had to be considered, though they had processes in place that helped them determine if anyone was pulling out a particularly odd level of knowledge.

Sometimes, like with the twins, it simply revealed those ravenous for knowledge. Either way, it meant that it was worth paying attention.

Catarina had watched them, too timid to pull books off the shelves for fear that they would somehow waste their opportunity. The only thing they could waste was the time they spent not learning things.

When they expressed interest in formations, she had taught them personally. “Books are useful,” Catarina said. “But you can’t really learn everything you need to just from their pages. Authors make all sorts of mistakes and leave out things that they expect people to already understand.”

“Umm…” Misi looked down at the books they both held, ‘Introduction to Basic Formations’. “If that’s the case then why…?”

“Why what?” Catarina asked.

“Why write anything?” he gestured to the book she had written herself.

Catarina smiled. “Because I don’t have the time or inclination to teach billions of people myself. You two are fortunate that you’re friends of a friend. Of course, it’s not like you need me in particular to teach you easy stuff.”

“So I noticed…” Juli began timidly. “That uh, there’s a section on dismantling formations from the Trigold Cluster?”

“Obviously,” Catarina said. “It’s not complete or anything because that’s just the primer, and because I haven’t seen all of their formations.” She looked over them. “You two have good memories right? If you could recreate some formations for me, it might be useful.”

“We are still but novices,” Misi said, “Unable to perfectly replicate the complexities. And the expense… I don’t think we can afford the many mistakes we would make.”

“Oh, we’ll just simulate it,” Catarina said. “If you’re iffy on anything, or if the simulation chamber doesn’t know how a particular interaction works for some reason, I can probably smooth things out.”

“... Simulate it?” Juli asked. “But to create a formation that replicates other formations… wouldn’t it have to be a perfect representation of every formation all at once?”

“Sure,” Catarina said. “That’s why it’s neither perfect nor made using formations. It’s all technology.”

Misi frowned. He knew the word, of course, but it seemed to have more meaning here. He’d seen all sorts of strange things here, like doors that opened on their own without a whisper of energy. Those still startled him, sometimes. “How does that work?” he asked.

“Well, I could give you a basic explanation. Or Uzun could give you a century long course to catch you up to where you could understand an in-depth view of how it works.”

“Oh, could he?” Juli looked excited. Then she shook her head. She doubted she would actually be allowed to monopolize so much of a great elder’s time.

“Well, there are a few thousand hours of courses recorded you should probably start with,” Catarina said. “It would let you know if you’re actually interested. You’d have to meet a certain standard to catch his interest.” A high standard, but the twins had the intelligence. But without the passion for the subject, they’d probably never reach the point they needed him anyway. Even Uzun didn’t understand every piece of technology- though given a few minutes he could figure it out just from observing.

Misi was obviously still concerned about whether the section on dismantling certain formations should be so easily disseminated, but Catarina knew it left out the real weaknesses the formations had. And since their own formations didn’t use those same techniques, the worst that could happen was their enemies would adapt. They might, but Catarina was willing to bet it would take a millennium for a behemoth like the Trigold Cluster to actually redo some of the basic vulnerabilities. Especially not when most people still wouldn’t recognize them even with the proper information.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

-----

Jyotsana looked at the pair that were supposed to be a grandfather and grandson. Neither of them looked any older, and aside from their aura, neither of them resembled the other in the slightest. But she’d asked for a teacher of fire, and the two were clearly more than qualified.

How many Augmentation cultivators did this Scarlet Alliance even have, anyway? Weren’t the Scarlet Midfields devoid of talent? It was immediately clear to her that they were not, but it still clashed with everything she’d known for her whole life.

It soon became clear to Jyotsana that while she could learn much from them, she had some fundamental flaws that couldn’t be fixed. Like, for example, her core cultivation method. It was one made to reach Integration, obviously. Only trash methods couldn’t do that much, though she’d still struggled to actually do it.

She now realized that it wasn’t able to carry her beyond Integration. She hadn’t even really expected to reach Integration regardless of it being technically possible. Not many people did, and she literally had to chalk it up to luck.

Luck of being in the right place, with the right people. Luck that some Augmentation cultivators were actually the ones fighting the great worm that had sought to devour them, and thus she and the others could survive. Jyotsana knew she didn’t have that sort of fortune… so who did? It shouldn’t have been any of the Augmentation cultivators, since they had little to gain from crossing paths with four Integration cultivators. Perhaps the twins or Durff? Yet neither had displayed great fortune in their earlier lives. Even if she was a bit jealous of their talent.

Even though Jyotsana didn’t say anything, Prospero seemed to recognize her thoughts. “The limitations of your cultivation style bother you.”

“Why wouldn’t they?” she spat back. “All my advancement has done was doom me to another century or more of mediocrity.”

He nodded. “If that is your concern, then your best option is to change cultivation styles.”

Jyotsana sighed. “Look at me. If my cultivation drops, I’m just going to shrivel up and die. So even if you were to share the secrets of your profound method with me, it wouldn’t do me any good.”

“The core of the One Hundred Stars is widely available,” Prospero mentioned. “But you are correct. It would not save your life. However, we do have access to some methods that might accomplish what you want.”

Jyotsana narrowed her eyes. “Don’t taunt me with impossible promises. I know I’m not so talented to replace my core with anything else and survive the process, no matter how astounding the method.”

“You don’t necessarily have to survive,” Prospero said. That got a confused look from Jyotsana. “Think of the techniques of the Twin Soul Sect. They die and are reborn with some portion of their memories. In theory, at least.”

“It’s certain they do,” Jyotsana nodded. “But they keep their techniques quite secret.”

“Oh, we have plenty of information on it. I wouldn’t suggest that for numerous reasons.” They had perfect replicas of what was disseminated to the lower realms, though they had reason to believe it was still imperfect. Then again, an imperfect reincarnation was probably better than what most people could ever expect. “We do have some methods based on Phoenix Rebirth that would be more suited for someone with fire element insight like yourself.”

Jyotsana shivered. “What’s the catch? You know I don’t have anything to offer. You want me to sign over my soul or something?”

“Well,” Prospero shrugged. “You’d sort of have to. We couldn’t afford to let you end up anywhere else, and it would be unfortunate for you as well. If you were reborn in the wrong place, you might immediately die again- and be properly immersed in the cycle of reincarnation. Keeping your identity beyond that point would be unlikely.”

She pondered. She already knew she was afraid to let her body die and her soul be cleansed. So she couldn’t really reject the possibility no matter what might be demanded of her. Still… “What would you gain out of it? I can’t imagine it’s worth it for a mediocre cultivator.”

“On the contrary,” the man said. “It would be one more person who we know can reach Integration. Isn’t that a better gamble than a random young ‘genius’?” His smile was actually somewhat reassuring. “And I’m not going to lie, it is still a gamble on your part. Your life will end earlier, and your success will be up to your own merit. The techniques may even retain flaws. We haven’t had many tests, after all.”

“What do you mean by that?” Jyotsana asked. “Is it too dangerous to cultivate the technique?”

Prospero shook his head. “Most people just haven’t died yet.” He didn’t explain that they were techniques taken from both the upper and lower realms stitched together. The various pieces had been studied and verified as much as possible. Some by actual phoenixes- though those techniques were the riskiest ones for humans.

“I’ll need time to think about it,” Jyotsana lied. She didn’t want to appear too eager. But she also wasn’t going to try to stretch the limits of the offer. She had to get one of those techniques. Even if it meant spending her whole life in service, did it really matter? Her elation at reaching Integration with the resources in the secret realm had only been overshadowed by her despair at realizing she was already past her natural limits and could do little more but wait for her decline.

-----

Durff looked at the man sent to train him. He had a bald head and powerful body. “You don’t use hammers,” Durff declared.

Before he knew it, the man’s forehead was interacting with his face. Then he was tumbling across the floor. Oh, he hadn’t realized they’d started training.

“I could,” said the man. Sly, maybe? “But someone else might be better to teach you weapons. For now, we’re just going to work on how to fight.”

“I know how to fight,” Durff said.

“Oh yeah?” Sly raised an eyebrow. “Prove it.”

Durff wanted to think he got smeared all over the floor so easily because his opponent was at the peak of Integration, but it was pretty clear that wasn’t true. Sly never used more energy than him. Even so, he still managed to completely lock Durff down over and over. Sometimes he thought he got in a good swing, and then Sly just took the hit.

At some point, Durff was having trouble picking himself up off the floor. But he still did it. He might not technically be learning anything about hammers at the moment, but he was learning. He didn’t know when he’d get another opportunity to do the same. So he stood, again and again until his body shut down.

It was weird, allowing himself to get to that point. But it was also freeing, to know that he was around people who would keep him safe while he was out.